Week One Recap
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| UTC guard and preseason SoCon Player of the Year Trey Bonham (photo courtesy of UTC Athletics) |
With more than 60 players transferring out of the league this season, it's really hard to know what to expect in the opening week of the season. If you're a SoCon hoops fan like myself, you're probably just so excited that basketball is back that you end up enjoying the games more than anything. It's sometimes hard to analyze games when that is the case because you are enthralled by the action in front of you.
Certainly that is how I spent my Friday night, and with three games with staggered start times within a 90-minute span, I was able to take in a lot of basketball in the opening weekend of the college basketball season. The good news is that three of the four games involving SoCon teams were really good games. The bad news is the SoCon only won one of those games.
Of the three losses, maybe the most concerning is the loss by Western Carolina (1-1), which was drilled by a Queens Royals (2-1) team that went 14-19 last season and they took on a Catamounts team that was almost an entirely new squad from a team that won 22 games a year ago. With that said, some of the 13-point loss to Queens is more understandable.
The other concerning loss came from East Tennessee State (1-1). I picked the Bucs to win the league and I have no doubt that they will be right in the mix come the start of league play, but ETSU went through a ho-hum home win over Newberry and then facing an Eastern Kentucky (2-1) team that will be right in the mix to win an Atlantic Sun title this season, and while the Bucs' four-point loss to EKU is respectable in the end (L, 78-82), the most concerning thing about the loss isn't the loss itself.
In fact, it's how the Bucs have started games, or like the exhibition loss to another very talented and conference title contender, in High Point, the Bucs started great and then went through a lull of about 13 minutes to end the first half and then it carried over to the beginning portions of the second half, which ETSU found it especially hard to score the basketball.
The Bucs fell behind the Colonels by 20 points early in the game and they found themselves having to battle back the entire night, however, after whittling the Colonel lead down to just four late. The stat that sticks out is the fact that ETSU had 21 offensive rebounds, which they converted into 14 points. That was something the Bucs did especially well last season.
EKU's Devontae Blanton, who is one of the top players in the Atlantic Sun and will compete for ASUN Player of the Year honors, finished with a game-high tying 20 points. His backcourt opposition for ETSU, Quimari Peterson, who is also one of the top players in his respective conference and is one of handful of players that should compete for SoCon Player of the Year this season, matched Blanton's total with 20 of his own.
Jaden Seymour added 18 points in the loss, while North Texas transfer John Buggs III finished with 16 points. Karon Boyd, who is the Bucs' glue guy and arguably the top sixth man in the SoCon, added 14 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in 36 minutes off the bench.
Two of the areas the Bucs struggled with most last season was shooting from the perimeter and post scoring production. In the first two games of the season, the Bucs have connected on a combined 12-of-51 from three-point (23.5%).
The Bucs were solid scoring the ball in the paint in the post in the first two games, scoring 40 in the opener against Newberry and followed that up with 32 points in the second outing against EKU.
Another thing that seems a bit concerning is ETSU's minutes distribution through the first two games of the season with essentially six players logging all the minutes in ETSU's game against Eastern Kentucky, with Roosevelt Wheeler not seeing any minutes. He transferred into the Bucs program from VCU. Davion Bradford did start the game, but he only played a total of five minutes and didn't record any stats.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how the minutes distribution changes, and how much Bradford sees his minutes increase as he develops in Brooks Savage's system. All in all, I remain optimistic about the Bucs and I think this will be a team that will once again be tough to score against, and will shoot the ball much better from three-point range as the year progresses as the season matures. The Bucs have too much talent to not be a title contender this season, even if one or two its big men don't end up panning out like originally thought.
Samford (2-1) has been an interesting watch and on Friday night against a good Cornell team, they looked every bit the part of the SoCon favorite and the most talented team in the league and one of the most talented in mid-major hoops for a good portion of the second half. It was almost as if two different Samford teams was playing in one game at different times in the same contest.
The Bulldogs looked elite offensively at times in their loss to Cornell (2-0)--a team that won 22 games last season and went to the NIT--but struggled most of the night on the defensive end in what was a heartbreaking 88-86 setback, which saw the Big Red win on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from 6-4 sophomore guard Jake Fiegen.
It was easy to see the full array of offensive talent this team possesses, but it was also easy to see that this was a team very much still getting used to playing together with one another, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
Samford would allow 88 points and did use its press with some effectiveness, forcing 18 Big Red turnovers, which led to a 25-10 advantage for the Bulldogs in the "points from turnovers" statistic. The Bulldogs allowed opponents to score 80 or more points on 11 occasions last season in 35 games last season, posting a 7-4 record in such games, so it is not all that uncommon to see.
It's not as if the Big Red shot the ball lights out from the field in their small, quaint home facility--Newman Arena--Friday night, as Cornell ended the night connecting on just 43.1% (28-of-65) from the field, but struggled from long-range in the game, as the Big Red could only manage a 28.6% (10-of-35) from long-range. Overall, the effort was there defensively for the Bulldogs, which is always nice to see.
In the matchup Friday night between the Bulldogs and Big Red, it was a chance to see two teams that had similar philosophies in terms of getting the game sped up. Cornell posted 93 points in their season-opening win over non-Division I Marywood and ranked 16th in all of NCAA Division I basketball in scoring offense (82.1 PPG) last season, featuring one of the nation's most efficient offenses, finishing the 2023-24 season ranking 14th in field goal percentage (48.8%) and 10th in three-pointers made per game (10.3). Those are all stats that the Bulldogs excelled in offensively in a year ago as well under fifth-year head coach.
Cornell is a team that most resembles a couple of teams that the Bulldogs will face in the Southern Conference this season, although not identical. Both Chattanooga and Furman are similar in offensive efficiency and both of those teams, much like Cornell, place a heavy importance on shooting the three.
Collin Holloway has looked as good as advertised so far in the small sample size of games, and he ended up tying for game-high scoring honors along with Cornell's Fiegen, as he finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, which included a 1-for-3 effort from three-point land. He also added six rebounds, two steals and two assists and was one of four Bulldogs in double figures.
Rylan Jones looked as good as advertised, and he looks like he will be one of those few players that should be in the running for SoCon Player of the Year honors this season, as he posted 16 points and dished out five assists, but had a somewhat uncharacteristic three turnovers.
The Big Red ended with a narrow advantage in points in the paint (36-32) and were a +3 (29-26) on the boards, with 15 offensive rebounds. However, despite having three less offensive boards, the Bulldogs managed to edge the Big Red in the second-chance points category, outscoring the Big Red, 18-15, in that category.
Big men Jaden Brownell and Riley Allenspach (2 pts) combined for just 11 points, which isn't great in post production--an area that made the 2023-24 Bulldogs so tough to deal with when Achor Achor and Jermaine Marshall were healthy, as it gave the Bulldogs a true inside-out game that had to respected at all times. Achor was almost a walking double-double during Southern Conference play a year ago.
The verdict on Samford early at least is that the Bulldogs are uber-talented offensively in the backcourt, and it's a team likely more talented within its starting five than the one that won it last season. I am not sold, however, that this is a deeper team than the one that cut down the nets in Asheville last season. From watching a lot of the Cornell game, Samford is a team that showed signs of being a good defensive team at points but are way too inconsistent right now.
With the scoring talent Bucky McMillan's team has, you still have to consider them one of the title favorites based on that simple fact alone, but there may not be the disparity in being an overwhelming title favorite as some might have thought based on the portal talent brought in during the off-season.
Sometimes and overwhelming amount of offensive talent like Samford has can create a role overload when it comes to having more than one guy that is looking to get theirs in terms of points. Head coach Bucky McMillan has a tough job managing that particular aspect.
It was largely a problem that doomed Furman last season, or if you are looking back to a team like the 2016-17 Chattanooga Mocs team. Both of those teams had those struggles among returning players, so it might be even more difficult to deal with in the current transfer portal/NIL era we find ourselves currently in. It's also really early, so it's hard to make a completely accurate judgement on much of anything as of yet.
The Bulldogs opened the season last Monday night with a 100-58 win over Mississippi College. The Bulldogs will get their second chance at their first NCAA Division I win later this week when they travel to North Alabama in their first game in the SoCon-Atlantic Sun challenge on Thursday night. The Bulldogs made easy work of Rhodes College on Tuesday night, blasting the visiting Lynx, 108-50, inside the friendly confines of the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs return to the road on Thursday night, facing North Alabama (3-0) as a part of the SoCon-ASUN Alliance. Tip-off is set for 8:45 p.m. EST.
Another of the preseason favorites--the Chattanooga Mocs (0-3)--started the season with maybe the two most intriguing games and two best tests, as Chattanooga went out to the west coast to face both the University of Southern California (2-0) and mid-major perennial power St. Mary's (3-0) to start out the season. With not much time upon arrival back in the Scenic City after losing at St. Mary's on Friday night, the Mocs would be on the road again in their opening game of the SoCon-ASUN Alliance series against a pretty good Austin Peay (3-0) team.
The Mocs were also a team that was not 100% healthy when they took the floor for either game during their trip, with portal addition Frank Champion, wing guard Bash Wieland and returning big man Colin Mulholland both currently out with injuries. Two of the three would end up returning to the fold against Austin Peay. are slated to return soon, but it made the Mocs a little thin when it came to the low post in their opening two games of the 2024-25 season.
One thing we know about Dan Earl's teams--they love to shoot the three, and when they struggle in that area of the game, it more often than not is probably not going to lead to the desired result Chattanooga hopes to achieve.
With that said, prior to arriving in Chattanooga, Earl was of course the head coach of VMI, and not only did his VMI teams shoot the ball well, but they played really well on the defensive end of the floor. Earl's first two teams in the Scenic City, have been a joy to watch on the offensive end of the floor, but more inconsistent defensively.
If the Mocs hope to return to the pinnacle of the SoCon mountain, they will have to play more like some of those VMI teams that Earl had, rather than his first two teams in the Scenic City. With that said, you can't decipher too much from the first two games of the season against a pair of teams that really good offensively. Like most teams that almost relied solely on portal talent, it was hard to know exactly what USC would be like as a team this season, however, what was undeniable is that they beat a pretty good Gonzaga team in an exhibition game before the season.
For the opening half of play at least, Dan Earl's matchup zone gave new USC head coach Eric Musselman headaches in the opening 20 minutes of action, but as a result of offensive struggles of their own, the Mocs found themselves down by 10 (22-32) at the break. In the second half, the Trojans figured things out and started using their position-less players to create some matchup problems for the depth-challenged Mocs.
Chattanooga finished the night against the Trojans with its lowest shooting percentage totals under Earl, which included a 27.8% shooting clip from the field and just 17.6% (6-of-34) from three-point range in the seqason-opening, 77-51, setback to the Trojans. Chattanooga's shooting percentage for the game was its lowest since shooting 25.4% in a 63-42 loss to Southeast Missouri on Nov. 17, 2018.
If there were a blueprint to guard Chattanooga's diverse motion offense, which is predicated on constantly cutting and moving, the Trojans probably provided it. However, the major issue is that most teams don't have the personnel in the SoCon to do the type of job the Trojans were. They were able to largely stagnate ball movement by playing physical and causing a slight delay in the arrival time of players getting to spots, and that caused the player passing the ball to delay his pass, and thus it slows the primary goal of the offense entirely, which is creating space.
In the second game against Saint Mary's, the Mocs played much better, despite the fact that it dropped the 86-74 contest at St.Mary's. The Mocs were still without Frank Champion, Bash Wieland and Colin Mulholland, but the Mocs more than held their own against the Gails, and after trailing 39-29 at the break, came out strong in the second half and used a 16-4 run to take what was a 45-43 lead, with preseason SoCon Player of the Year Trey Bonham and Honor Huff had 12 of 16 points during that run, however, the Gaels responded with a 12-2 run down the stretch in the game and that would prove to be the difference in the end, as the Gaels went onto the 12-point triumph on their home floor.
The Mocs didn't get much rest before hitting the floor for the third time in the opening week Monday night, finishing out the long road trip to open the season with a trip to F&M Bank Arena to take on Austin Peay as a part of the ASUN-SoCon Alliance Monday night. The Governors, who already have a win at Butler this season to raise more than a few eyebrows around the country. The Governors were picked to finish second behind Lipscomb in the preseason ASUN hoops poll by the league's head coaches.
The Mocs, who were picked second in the preseason SoCon Coaches' Poll behind Samford, played the Governors tough throughout the night, ultimately falling to 0-3 with a 67-61 setback to Austin Peay. The 0-3 start for the Mocs marks the first time the Mocs have started a season in the NCAA Division I era with three-straight true road games (Division I since 1977-78) and also marked just the fifth time the Mocs have started a campaign 0-3 (1999-00, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2011-12, and 2024-25) in their NCAA Division history.
All of UTC's 0-3 starts to a season have come since 1999, and it marks the first time since the 13 years the Mocs have started a season winless through its first three games. The Mocs went on to win the Southern Conference Tournament title and make one of their 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in the 2008-09 season.
Chattanooga's start to the season is easily the toughest three-game stretch anyone in the league has had to this point. Against the Governors, and it was another tough shooting start for Chattanooga which got the Mocs off to a precarious start in the contest.
Despite the struggles shooting the basketball, the Mocs would eventually settle into the game and used their defense to hang around most of the night. For a third-straight game, the Mocs would struggle shooting the basketball from three-point land, connecting on just 17.2% (5-of-29) from three-point land, and that led to just a 39.1% (25-of-64) for the game for the Mocs.
LJ Thomas ended up leading three Governors players in double figures with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-for-3 shooting from long range. Thomas also dished out two assists and had one steal. Thomas also finished 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Sai Witt added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Isaac Haney rounded out the Governors in double figures with 14 points.
Chattanooga would be led in the loss by Bash Wieland, who in his first appearance of his career for the Mocs, who represented the lone UTC player in double figures, as he finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the loss. Wieland, a transfer from Bellarmine, went 0-for-3 from long-range.
Honor Huff and Trey Bonham represented two of three Mocs that would finish the contest with seven points, with Latif Diouf rounding out those with seven points in the contest. For Bonham and Huff, the dynamic scoring duo was held to just 4-for-22 shooting from the field, which included just a combined 2-for-15 effort from three-point range. The Mocs made their first five of 10 shots from three-point land against the Governors, however, missed their final 19.
The five made threes marked the 71st-straight game in which Chattanooga has made five or more three-pointers in a game, which began in the 2022-23 season opener or Dan Earl's first game as the head coach of the Mocs. That is the second-longest streak in the nation, with Oral Roberts sporting a streak of 128-straight games of having made five or more threes in a game.
Of concern through the first three games for Chattanooga is its almost total reliance on the three-point shot and outside the 14 points provided by Makai Richards in the loss at St. Mary's, Chattanooga has had trouble getting scoring in the post. That could very well change when the Blue and Gold gets completely healthy underneath, and Frank Champion makes his return to the lineup.
Through the first three games of the 2024-25 season, the Mocs are connecting on just 19-of-83 (22.9%) from three-point range, and as a result, the overall field goal percentage has suffered. The three-point shot has made up 48.5% of the total shot attempts so far this season for Chattanooga. As a team, the Chattanooga sports a team field goal percentage of just 39.2% (67-of-171) from the field, while opponents are shooting 48.8% (80-of-164) and 35.5% (22-of-62) from three-point range.
The Mocs will try and right the ship on Thursday night, as the Mocs will welcome the Morehead State Eagles to McKenzie Arena for a 7 p.m. EST contest in what will be the home opener for Chattanooga.
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| Furman graduate senior forward Garrett Hien |
Not many folks knew what to expect out of Bob Richey's Furman Paladins (3-0) coming into the 2024-25 season, and with some good reason, as there were some unknowns about the Paladins coming into the season, which was due in large part to the fact that the Paladins and Richey had to be heavily reliant on the transfer portal for the first time in his now eight seasons as the head coach.
Also, the Paladins had four of their top five players move on, and that included losing 56.5 PPG of 79.4 PPG scoring as a team last season, which is 71.1% of the team's scoring from last season. The good news is the Paladins did return a veteran core of players, which included a trio of Tyrese Hughey, Garrett Hien, and Ben VanderWal, all returning from that team that won 28 games two years ago and won the Southern Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament game. Though they weren't big in terms of scoring contributions to that team, they were a big part of every game that season.
The biggest concern for the 'Dins coming into the 2024-25 season was the point guard spot, and that's because both JP Pegues and Carter Whitt moved on to both Auburn and Belmont respectively, and with Jalen Sullinger ultimately deciding not to come to Furman via the portal from Kent State, it left coach Richey and staff without a true point guard entering the 2024-25 season, with PJay Smith Jr., who was a preseason all-league pick, being the one to take on that new responsibility this season. Smith hasn't been 100% healthy during the off-season with a broken finger keeping him out in the opener, however, he would return in Furman's second game of the season against Belmont.
The Paladins brought in three primary newcomers for the 2024-25 season, with Tom House, Nick Anderson and Charles Johnston, all providing notable new pieces to the potential championship puzzle for the Paladins. The Paladins finished 17-16 last season, and the 10-8 mark in league play was only good enough to ensure a tie for fifth-place in the league standings last season.
A 17-16 isn't horrible, but it is certainly not to the standards to which the Paladins have built their program upon over the past few seasons. The Paladins would not only be welcoming in plenty of new faces to its roster for the 2024-25 season, but also be playing basketball in a new venue all together, with Timmons Arena getting a new 40-million dollar upgrade, as the Paladins will be playing a majority of their games at the big downtown arena--Bon Secours Wellness Arena--for the 2024-25 season. Furman currently sports an all-time record of 11-9 inside its home away from home, and that record dates back to Dec. of 1998 and a 64-57 loss to the Tigers on Dec. 26, 1998.
The Paladins opened up the season with a 104-46 win over Columbia International in their new, spacious arena that hosted the NCAA Tournament First Round back in 2022. That was not a surprising result, but what was a bit surprising for some is how well the Paladins defended as well as how well the Paladins shot the basketball.
In the win over the Rams to open the new basketball season, the Paladins connected on 12-of-17 three pointers in the opening half, while holding the Rams to just 46 points and held the Rams to just 28.6% (16-of-56) from the field, including just 9.5% (2-of-21) from long-range in the win. House led the Paladins with 21 points and his performance would be a hint of things to come for the Paladins.
The next matchup against Belmont (2-1) would provide a truer sense of what the potential of the Paladins could be in terms of whether or not Furman could exceed its preseason prognostication of fifth in the league, as selected by the head coaches.
Belmont is maybe the best example of a mid-major program that has been able to build sustainable success at this level, as the Bruins have 19-consecutive seasons of 19 or more wins, and have been a model of winning consistency as a mid-major program. It was a bit of unfamiliar territory for Belmont as well entering the matchup with the Paladins, however, as the Bruins didn't return a single starter from the 2023-24 season to its starting five for the 2024-25 season.
The Paladins again used an outstanding half shooting the basketball from deep, canning 11 triples in the opening half of play and would take a 42-34 lead into the half. Five of Furman's 11 triples in the opening half of play would come from Barry University transfer Nick Anderson, who ended up finishing the night 17 points.
The Bruins, who had within their ranks former Paladin guard Carter Whitt, would make a run and eventually take the lead in the basketball game in the second half when the Bruins put together a 15-3 run to take a 58-55 lead with 9:35 remaining.
Following an Aidan Noyes miss and a House rebound, the Florida State transfer would record his second-straight important assist, finding Davis Molnar in the paint, who converted a baby hook in the paint and was fouled in the process by Belmont's Drew Scharnowski. Molnar finished off the three-point play the old-fashioned way to trim Belmont's lead to a single point, at 69-68, with 4:07 remaining.
House continued his strong stretch, and following a Brody Peebles missed three and rebound by Cooper Bowser, House took a pass from PJay Smith Jr. and knocked down a left elbow three to help Furman regain the lead, at 71-69, completing what had been an 8-0 run with exactly four minutes remaining.
Peebles would then score five-straight for Belmont to help put the Bruins back into the lead when he converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way following Bowser's fourth foul of the night. Bowser blocked a key shot by Belmont's Jonathan Pierre with two minutes left, but eventually Peebles would increase on a short jumper with 50 seconds left, giving the Bruins a 74-71 lead.
After a 30-second timeout, Warner drew up a nice play for a PJay Smith Jr. layup to get the Paladins within a point, at 74-73, with 22 seconds remaining. After Bowser committed his fifth foul on Belmont's Isaiah Walker, it put the Bruins in the bonus and sent Walker to the line for a one-and-one with 15 seconds remaining. Walker missed the front end and the ball was rebounded by Garrett Hien. Belmont had a foul to give, and Walker would foul Hien with seven seconds left.
The Paladins inbounded the ball just in front of their bench and a beautifully designed ball-action off the inbounds play would lead to Smith's game-winning triple from straightaway.
The ball was inbounded by Smith to Nick Anderson and following an excellent screen from House at the nail, despite being well-guarded by Belmont's Jonathan Pierre, House's screen created just enough room for Smith to get off his shot and the career 40% three-point shooter would connect on what proved to be the game-winning triple to give the Paladins a 76-74 lead with 2.3 seconds left.
The Paladins played good defense on Belmont's long inbounds pass, as the Paladin bench erupted in celebration when the final buzzer sounded in reaction to the huge early road win.
Of note in the win is not only was it PJay Smith Jr.'s first game of the season, which saw him lead the Paladins with a team-high 21 points, but Furman was also without head coach Bob Richey, who was with his wife, Jessica (Richey), as the couple welcomed their fourth child into the world--Francie Elizabeth Richey--and what a Birthday memory the Richeys will be able to share with their young daughter in the future.
Along with the obvious performance by Smith, it was Garrett Hien that also came up big in Furman's win, posting a 15-point, six-rebound, and six-assist effort in the second win of the season. For his 21-point effort, which ultimately included the thrilling game-winner, Smith was named the SoCon's Player of the Week for the first week of the 2024-25 season.
Following the win over Belmont, the Paladins headed back to Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Paladins first challenge in the SoCon-ASUN Alliance came calling in the form of the Jacksonville Dolphins (1-2), who are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jordan Mincy, and it was the Dolphins that made that memorable run as the No. 12 seed all the way to the ASUN Championship game last season before eventually losing to Stetson, 88-87, in what
After trailing 36-33 at the break, the Paladins used a strong defensive effort and an increased effort on the boards in the second half, as Furman held the Dolphins scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the second half, and that led to a 14-0 run, allowing the Paladins to take control of the game in the second half.
Furman would go on to an impressive 78-69 win, led by an impressive 25-point performance from 6-11 big man Charles Johnston, which saw the native of Sydney Australia and former Cal State Monterrey Bay center connect on 8-of-9 shots from the field, which included a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range.
For a second-straight outing, Garrett Hien was a huge reason the Paladins ended up being victorious. The graduate senior from Charlotte posted his second-career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the win.
The Paladins have won 201 games since the start of the 2015-16 season, having posted a 201-98 overall mark, which is the top record in the league among the 10 members. The next closest SoCon team, is UNC Greensboro, which has 199 wins and has posted a 199-102 mark over that same span.
My assessment of Furman is that they are deep and much better defensively than they were a year ago, and while the Paladins don't have maybe a player as individually talented as its top two last season, the comprehensive depth and overall team and the roles understood within that structure, are far better than the 2016-17 season. This a Paladin team closer to competing for a title and NCAA Tournament berth than it is to battling to finish in the middle-of-the-pack in the league this season.
Furman returns to action this coming Friday night, welcoming Tulane (3-0) into Timmons Arena for a 7 p.m. EST tip-off. The Paladins will be looking to avenge what was a 117-110 double-overtime loss to the Green Wave last season.
Other Notes:
--VMI (3-0) is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2010-11 following a 102-56 win over Christendom on Tuesday night at Cameron Hall. Highlighting the young season for head coach Andrew Wilson's Keydets so far is a 76-71 road win over Bellarmine (0-2), which was part of the SoCon-ASUN Alliance. It was VMI's first road opening win since the 2010-11 season and it was the first win away from Cameron Hall since a 75-69 win at The Citadel on Feb. 2, 2023. The Keydets would overturn a 17-10 deficit early and then after trailing 24-23 later in the opening frame, put together a decisive 19-6 run in to close the half and took a 43-29 lead to the half and never looked back, bringing back a huge road win. Indiana State transfer Augustinas Kiudulas led the way for the Keydets with 17 points, while Lipscomb transfer TJ Johnson added 14 points in the road triumph.
--The Citadel (2-1) became the first SoCon team to take down an NCAA Tournament qualifier from last season, taking down Stetson (1-2) in emphatic fashion Tuesday night, routing the Hatters, 74-52. Kenyan Davis led the way for the Bulldogs, pouring in 18 points, while Brody Fox added 13 in the win. For the second-straight season, the Bulldogs gave ACC member Boston College (1-1) all it wanted before eventually falling in the contest, as this time the Bulldogs would fall, 69-60, in Chestnut Hill. The Bulldogs would battle back to stay in the game, despite trailing by as many as 16 points (48-32) in the second half. The Citadel would be led in scoring by Brody Fox's 18 points, as the UW-Stoudt transfer finished the night by connecting on 6-of-10 shots from the field and was 6-for-9 from the charity stripe. Fox also contributed three rebounds and three steals. The Bulldogs connected on just 12.5% (3-of-24) from three-point range in the loss to the Eagles.
--Wofford (1-1) battled 2024-25 Atlantic Sun favorite Lipscomb (1-2), 78-69, on Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena. The Terriers had three players in double figures in the loss, led by Dillon Bailey's 17 points, while Corey Tripp added 15. The Terriers opened the season with a lopsided 112-58 win over Erskine.
--Furman currently ranks ninth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (38-of-82), shooting 46.3% from long range through the first three games of the 2024-25 season. By contrast, both Chattanooga and East Tennessee State rank No. 340 and 345, respectively in three-point field goal percentage through at least two games so far this season. The Bucs have connected on 23.8% (12-of-51) in two games, while the Mocs have posted 22.9% through three games, connecting on 19-of-83 from long range.
--Mercer (1-1) opened the Ryan Ridder era with a 125-54 throttling of Virginia-Lynchburg, as all 12 Bears players that played in the contest made at least two field goals, with Angel Montas leading the Bears with a career-high 18 points. The second game of the Ridder era didn't go nearly as well and it was a steep step up in competition, with the Bears dropping what was a 95-64 contest to Big East member Depaul (2-0). The Bears would be held to just 39% shooting from the field for the game, while the Blue Demons connected on 55%. Depaul connected on its first four threes of the game and never looked back, taking a 51-24 lead into the locker room.
--UNCG (1-1) had one of the most impressive wins of the opening week of the 2024-25 season, as Mike Jones' Spartans took down Florida Gulf Coast (0-2) as a part of the SoCon-ASUN Alliance, with the Spartans holding on for a 73-64 win over the Eagles at the First Horizon Coliseum (aka the Greensboro Coliseum) to open the 2024-25 campaign. Sharp-shooting guard Donovan Atwell and Radford transfer guard Kenyon Giles led the scoring efforts for the Spartans, posting 17 points apiece en rout to helping the Spartans securte the nine-point win. The Spartans would suffer their first defeat of the 2024-25 season at one of the ACC's newest members, falling 81-68 at SMU (3-0) this past Tuesday night. The Mustangs, which were selected to finish 13th in the 18-team ACC, were led by Boopie Miller's 21 points, while BJ Edwards added 17 and Samet Yigitoglu added 14 to round out the double-figure scorers, as the Mustangs used a key 9-0 run to extend a three-point lead (44-41) to 12 (53-41) and never were really threatened again, as they would go on to the 13-point win. Giles posted his second leading performance for the Spartans, posting a game-high tying 16 points.
Power Rankings (Nov. 4--11)
1. Samford
2. Furman
3. ETSU
4. Chattanooga
5. Wofford
6. UNCG
7. Mercer
8. VMI
9. The Citadel
10. Western Carolina
Upcoming Games: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024
Tusculum at East Tennessee State, 7 p.m. EST
Trinity Baptist at Mercer, 7 p.m. EST
Wofford at Presbyterian, 7 p.m. EST
Truett-McConnell at Western Carolina, 7 p.m. EST
Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
North Greenville at The Citadel, 7 p.m. EST
Morehead State at Chattanooga, 8 p.m. EST
Friday, Nov. 15, 2024
VMI vs Tennessee Tech, 3:30 p.m. EST (White Sulfur Springs, WVa)
Tulane at Furman, 7 p.m. EST
Samford at North Alabama, 8:45 p.m. EST
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024
Wofford at Duke, 12 p.m. EST
NC Wesleyan at UNCG, 1 p.m. EST
Mercer at South Alabama, 4 p.m. EST
ETSU at Davidson, 5 p.m. EST
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
North Carolina A&T at The Citadel, 2 p.m. EST
Texas Southern at Samford, 4 p.m. EST
Chattanooga at Southeast Missouri State, 3 p.m. EST
ASUN-SoCon Alliance Schedule and Results
Round 1:
ASUN and SoCon tied, 4-4, through eight games
Nov. 4 - UNCG 73, FGCU 64
Nov. 8 - Eastern Kentucky 82, ETSU 78
Nov. 8 - Queens 67, Western Carolina 54
Nov. 9 - VMI 76, Bellarmine 71
Nov. 9 - Lipscomb 78, Wofford 69
Nov. 11 - The Citadel 74, Stetson 52
Nov. 11 - Furman 78, Jacksonville 69
Nov. 11 - Austin Peay 67, Chattanooga 61
Nov. 15 - Samford @ North Alabama
Dec. 4 - West Georgia @ Mercer
Round 2:
Dec. 1 - North Alabama @ Wofford
Dec. 3 - Lipscomb @ UTC
Dec. 4 - Bellarmine @ Western Carolina
Dec. 4 - Furman @ FGCU
Dec. 7 - Queens @ VMI
Dec. 8 - Austin Peay @ Samford
Dec. 8 - Mercer @ Stetson
Dec. 14 - East Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Dec. 14 - UNCG @ North Florida
Dec. 16 - The Citadel @ Central Arkansas
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